


Down Memory Lane

by Speary



Series: Across the Universe [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: M/M, Spoilers through season 12, Timestamp, just a bunch of talking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-20
Updated: 2017-06-20
Packaged: 2018-11-16 13:32:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11253969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Speary/pseuds/Speary
Summary: It's 10:00 am and Castiel's legs are all tangled up with Dean's. They have cold beers and a whole lot of memories to sort.Timestamp for Dean Hates Castiel's Cock.





	Down Memory Lane

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a bunch of explanation for stuff in Dean Hates Castiel's Cock. If you haven't read that, this will mean nothing. Also, I just wanted to keep dabbling in this universe. I might do another dip in the world to have them work through some stuff with Bobby, Ellen, and Jo, but not just yet. I also put that no archive warnings apply, but there is a mentioning of Castiel dying in the series. I don't think that it warrants an MCD tag though seeing as the Cas of this fic is alive and doing well, thank you very much.

It was going on 10:00 am and Dean and Cas were well into their second beer. They’d been up since before dawn, curled up together under a blanket on Castiel's porch chairs. Sam’s head popped up over the wall. “Oh, you’re both over there. I’m coming over.” Sam boosted himself up onto the wall and then hopped down into the yard.

“Nice wall hopping Moose.” Dean laughed at his own joke.

“You pull that one up from the weird memory flood?” Sam strolled over. 

Dean thought about it and said, “Yeah, I guess I did.” 

Sam grabbed a chair and dragged it over to them. He spun it around and sat on it backwards. He folded his arms over the back of the seat. “Want a beer, Sam?” Cas asked. Dean’s legs were slung over him. They both looked rather comfortable.

“Sure. I guess it’s 5:00 somewhere.” 

Dean laughed and said, “I think it doesn’t matter what time it is. Pretty sure I’m remembering five lifetimes worth of existence. I’ve earned these beers.”

Castiel passed Sam a beer. “So you doing okay, Sam,” Castiel asked.

“I am, but get this. I’ve been thinking.” Sam popped the cap off the beer with a twist. “So we got all these memories from all these universes, and in most, we don’t have doubles.”

“What do you mean?” Dean leaned forward.

“Well, when we were in the world where we were actors, there were no other Sams or Deans or Castiels. It was just us. When we were in the future world with the killer angels and Bobby, we were never born. In the commune world that Cas came from, I was apparently Lucifer and there was only one Cas.”

“But there were two Deans,” Dean said.

“Yeah, that one was an anomaly.” Sam cleared his throat then and added, “Well, it got me thinking how it was odd, that world over the others.”

“More odd than angles wearing ear necklaces?” Dean scoffed.

“Different kind of odd.” Sam lifted the beer to his lips and drank. “Zachariah was connected to much of this. He used these worlds to teach us something that he felt was relevant. In fact, some version of us is in that,” Sam made some air quotes and continued, “ _ relevant world _ even now.

“Relevant world?” Castiel asked.

“Seems there was only one world that Zachariah really cared about, and it sure wasn’t this one or your world.” Sam waved a hand at Cas. “He was trying to get Dean and I in another world to give our bodies over to Lucifer and Michael. This world and yours were used to show those other Sams and Deans what the world might be like if they didn’t,” Sam used air quotes again, “play their parts.”

“So, weird question brainiac,” Dean laughed at his own little joke then continued, “Is this real?”

Castiel chose to answer, “Real is relative.”

“How so?” Dean asked.

“We are here, conscious of all that is happening around us. We are also seeing and feeling and gaining knowledge from all the other iterations of ourselves. I’d say we matter. We exist. That makes this real. However, some might view this as a constructed reality, one that Zachariah cobbled together. There might be boundaries to our world, confines that we can’t escape.”

Sam chimed in, “This is exactly part of the path I was on last night.” He grinned at them. He was really in his element. Sam loved a good research project. Dean looked at the memories swimming around in his head and realized that all Sams love a good research project. Sam’s words broke through his thoughts. “So the things that I haven’t figured out are, what made all of the memories break through and why is Cas here?”

Dean didn’t like this line of questioning. “Cas is just here,” he said with some force, as if to end the questioning.

Castiel moved his hand to Dean’s leg and gave it a squeeze. “I’m not going anywhere.” Dean caught the look in his eyes as he spoke, and it soothed him.

“So, there had to be a catalyst, right?” Sam tried to get them back on track. He reached down to his satchel, which normally had a laptop in it. He set it on his lap and pulled out a big folded piece of paper. “So, I started making notes about the universes that we inhabit.”

Sam unfolded the paper, and Dean’s eyes swooped over the notes all divided up under headings like “Killer Angel Land,” “Actor World,” “Our World,” and “Apocalypse Commune.” In the center of it all were the words “Relevant World.” Dean took a little offence at that. “Why don’t we count our world as the relevant one? They can be the “Stop Being Stupid World,” or the “Everyone Keeps Dying World,” or…”

Castiel interrupted and said, “The Not Enough Cocks World,” or “I Can’t Believe Dean and Castiel Haven’t Fucked Yet World.” He looked pleased with himself.

Dean leaned over and clinked his beer with Castiel’s and said, “Yeah, that’s just crazy. Like what’s wrong with them?”

“Well, you wanted to wait.” Castiel shrugged.

“A week, Castiel. I waited a week. Barely.” Dean rolled his eyes.

“Guys, can we focus. Plus, tmi.”

“Get use to it Sammy. It’s a beautiful thing.”

“Did you really just call me Sammy?” Sam’s frustrations were starting to come through loud and clear.

“Uh, yeah,” Dean said. 

“Don’t.” Sam waved his hands over the big paper hanging off his lap and said, “So this is what I’ve got mapped.” He pointed at “Apocalypse Commune,” and “Our World,” and said, “These ones for sure had Zachariah’s influence. He pulled  _ Relevant World _ Dean into both, and me too. Well, in the one I was Lucifer, but... Anyway, the angel Balthazar and  _ Relevant World Castiel _ were responsible for the  _ Actor World _ being entered.”

“Still wrapping my head around the fact that I named my cock Balthazar,” Castiel laughed.

Dean laughed too. “Haven’t gotten a memory of an Oberon, so I’m assuming he must have been some special friend of yours or some angel that you did a little cloud seeding with.” Dean elbowed him a little.

“He’s the king of the fairies,” Castiel sounded a little offended.

Dean laughed again. “You’re the king of the fairies.”

“Guys, seriously!”  _ Poor Sam. _

“Sorry Sam,” Castiel said. “I’ll try to keep Dean in check. Continue.”

“I’d like to see you try,” Dean said. Castiel’s hand slid up his thigh under the blanket and settled in for the long haul through this conversation. His fingers pressed into Dean’s flesh a little, kneading at the muscles there. Dean swallowed back any further words, and Castiel just smiled.

“Like I said, continue.”

Sam nodded. “One constant in all of this is Dean. He gets pulled into all the universes. I don’t, and some universes like this one don’t have a Castiel.”

“You are in all of the universes though,” Dean said.

“No, I’m not in the commune one. My body is, but that’s Lucifer,” Sam explained.

“Then how do you have memories from there?” Dean asked.

“I don’t,” Sam said, point blank. “I have memories of you telling me about that place, and about what you did there. I don’t have anything from there that is first hand.” He tipped his head a little and said, “Or rather second hand. I don’t really know how to refer to alternative universe memories that weren’t mine until yesterday.”

Dean tipped his head back and thought about it a little. “So that universe didn’t have you, but it did have two Dean’s and a Castiel.” He turned to Castiel and winked, “Sounds like a porno I saw once.”

“I think that the memories are talking there,” Castiel said.

Dean thought about that one and said, “I think you might be right.”

Sam interrupted before they got too far off target, “That brings us to catalysts.” He poked at the “Killer Angel Land” title on his paper and said, “Something happened here that set this off.”

“Lucifer killed Castiel as he left that world,” Dean said. He took Castiel’s hand from his thigh and held it. It was as though he was watching it happen right in front of him. He just needed to hold Castiel, keep him here in this world.

“Yeah, and that world is different from all the others in how it came to exist too. A nephilim brought it into being. I’m not sure how, but he did. So I’m thinking that maybe all the universes came to exist because an angel cracked the barriers between these worlds, and they all did it so that we or sometimes just you,” Sam pointed at Dean, “would either learn something in the new world or be protected from something in the so called  _ Relevant World _ .”

“You said the “Killer Angel Land” was different and that you think the cataclysmic event happened there,” Castiel said.

“Yes. I think that maybe your death there or Dean’s reaction to it or the connection to the nephilim broke the barriers that kept all of the memories from us.” 

“Maybe,” Castiel said.

“So now I'm left wondering, what are we supposed to learn? And what or who made Castiel hop from the apocalypse commune to our world.” Dean leaned forward.  Sam got up and came to Castiel. Looking down at him he asked, “What's the last thing you remember from there, Cas?”

Dean felt Castiel shake a little. His grip on Dean's hands tightened. “Sammy, maybe we don't do this right now.” He squeezed Castiel's hand to reassure him. “It's okay, Cas.”

Castiel's eyes closed tight. His breathing rattled out of him. “I held you in Detroit. I held you, and I prayed to anyone that would hear me. Lucifer himself could have come back then, and I'd have made a deal just so long as you were saved. Seems one of us is always doing something stupid like that.”

Dean interrupted, “Truer words were never spoken.”

“I never wanted anything so intensely.” Castiel continued as if Dean had not interrupted. “Then something shifted.”

Now Sam interrupted, “Shifted?”

Castiel wasn't hearing them though. He was seemingly seeing the story behind his closed eyes. “One minute I was holding Dean, dead in my arms, the next I was in a old motel room. Zachariah was there.”

Castiel opened his eyes. “Well you can't stop there, Cas,” Sam said. “What happened next?”

“I am only just now remembering. I should have remembered this before.”

Dean squeezed his hand again, “It's okay Cas. Just tell us what you can.”

Castiel closed his eyes again. “Zachariah said, ‘What the hell are you doing here?’ To which I replied, ‘I'm here for Dean.’ He laughed at me and told me that I didn't belong here, that this was not my place.”

“You were in the relevant world?” Dean asked.

“I think so,”Castiel opened his eyes. “The motel had a kitchen and some unusual art on the wall.”

“That describes every motel the Winchester's have ever visited,” Sam said.

Dean added, “Can't imagine living like that.” A moment passed and then he said, “Actually, I can. Yeech.” He turned toward Sam and added, “Makes ya glad we have jobs to pay for the weekend hunting trips huh?”

Sam nodded. Castiel continued his story, eyes falling closed again as he spoke. “I could feel you, your longing, then your contentment. Mostly I felt the joy that came from you being alive. I hadn't lost you. I felt the pull to you. Then Zachariah spoke. ‘You'll just keep busting on back here, mucking things up for him. Last thing I need is two of you here.’ Then he reached out and tapped my forehead. I woke up in the same motel, but it was in this world.“

 

“That's a long ways from here.” Dean stroked his hand with his thumb.

“It is. I didn't remember the other world except in a foggy kind of way. I didn’t remember you. Something was pulling me though. I followed the feeling. It brought me to the city. I was hungry and a bit of a mess.”

“You said you got the house with money that your deadbeat dad left you.” Dean lifted Castiel’s hand to his lips and kissed the back. “How’d you really get the house?”

“I had a feeling, like I said before. I came to the house. Something pulled me to it. And…” Castiel got up and walked to the edge of the porch. He looked out at the farm. Balthazar and Oberon were strutting around, pecking at the occasional speck in the dirt. “He was right there like he’d just been waiting for me to show up at that exact moment.”

“Who?” Sam asked.

“God or Chuck. I don’t know what I should call him. He gave me the keys and said it was mine. He said to find a way to just enjoy the place.” Castiel turned back to them. “He didn’t explain anything. He just hugged me and then walked away.” 

“That’s it?” Dean got up and came to him. “No explanation. No hey kid, good job saving the world a bunch of times? Nothing?”

Castiel looked at him with that piercing stare he sometimes had. “Not with words. He hugged me. He gave me these keys.” He patted his pocket. “In the end though, he was just giving me you.” Castiel reached out to him and cupped his cheek. He kissed him, soft and sure. “He gave me everything, and took away all the memories that might get in the way and make me fuck this up. It seems he did the same for you and Sam too.”

They all sat there for a time, letting the words and the actions settle in and make some sort of sense. “So this is all Chuck?” Sam finally asked.

“Maybe?” Castiel said. He and Dean came back to the chairs. They tangled their legs back up together and looked peaceful. 

“Why though?” Sam asked.

Dean smiled. It began small and grew with a realization. “Doesn’t matter. Heaven has been throwing all the Sams and Deans and Castiels around in every universe, and in this one, we get to just be happy. Maybe someday, those relevant Sams and Deans can come here and learn a thing or two.”

Castiel threw an arm around the back of Dean’s chair. He let his hand fall on Dean’s shoulder. In another life he pulled him up from Hell with a grip on this shoulder. “Maybe they already know about us like how we know about them.”

“Maybe, but somehow I don’t think so,” Dean said.

Castiel smiled though, “Well, it would do Dean some good. He’s clearly missing out.”

“He sure is.” Dean laughed.

“Maybe if I think about it very hard, the other Castiels will help him out.” Castiel laughed now too.

In a somber voice Sam said, “Relevant Castiel is dead though.”

Castiel shrugged. “Somehow I just don’t believe that he will be for long. Seems like we have a bit of a champion watching our backs.”

Dean picked up his beer in a type of toast and said, “Here’s to hoping that when Relevant World Castiel pulls a Lazarus and rises from his certainly temporary grave, that he has gained an unexplainable love for cocks.”

Castiel raised an eyebrow and said, “You know you can call them roosters?”

Dean laughed, “I used the right word.” Even Sam laughed then. Dean took a swig of his beer.

There was still a lot that they didn’t understand, but it hardly seemed to matter in the grand scheme of things. They had each other, they had a bunch of land, some roosters, and a whole lot of living to do. And maybe someday, a few relevant assholes might stumble on through to learn a thing or two about that.


End file.
